|
|
Time To Decide
By Wayne Trotter, Tecumseh Countywide News
Shawnee Mayor Chuck Mills is absolutely right that some decision needs to be made about economic development efforts in Pottawatomie County. He is also on track about reaching out and making this a countywide and/or regional effort. We are all in this together and we will succeed or fail together. When it comes to attracting more and better jobs, what helps one helps all.
It also makes sense to channel this effort through Pottawatomie County if at all possible. Whether the final form is a trust or takes some other legal structure, it is bound to deal with more than just Shawnee. If the final result winds up being totally Shawnee-oriented, the last year will have been lost. Shawnee and its economic development foundation have been very successful for a long time. The challenge now is strengthen that efort by reaching out and offering more.
Right now, we have no idea which way this little drama will turn. But there are some things that need to be kept in mind as the process unfolds. You might call this a reality check, economic development style:
REALITY 1 (The Most Important) – Together, suspicion and distrust comprise Enemy No. 1. Period. There has been too much of it through the years. Even when it has been justified – and sometimes it has – suspicion and distrust have been detrimental to progress. People in Shawnee and surrounding communities are neighbors and friends and need to act like it.
REALITY 2 – Unfairness is the second biggest problem if only because it breeds suspicion and distrust. Oklahoma's municipal financing system is terribly unfair and that has led to glaring inequities. It didn't start here and it's not going to end anytime soon. But it has to be recognized both in the governance and financing of a revised search for business and jobs.
REALITY 3 – As the largest and richest community in the county, Shawnee needs to drive this train...but not dominate it. Because of Shawnee's location and many other advantages, it is likely to continue to develop at a faster pace than most of its neighbors. But extending the advantages of professional help to the rest of the county will help rather than hinder Shawnee. Jobs created in McLoud, Tecumseh or Earlsboro generally mean money spent in Shawnee.
REALITY 4 – While Shawnee is far and away the largest city in Pottawatomie County, more county residents live outside Shawnee than in it. The 2000 census showed Shawnee with 28,692 people and the county with 65,521, which means Shawnee had 43.79 percent of the county's population. Tecumseh was second with 6,098 people or 9.31 percent of the county population. If the resulting board, commission or trust which governs economic development efforts in the future is loaded up with Shawnee people, it will be a failure. If it does not include a substantial number of Shawnee people, it will also be a failure. This is a big county and everybody deserves to have some say...without making the governing body too large.
REALITY 5 – Economic development means different things in different parts of the county and that needs to be recognized too. In the area along the South Canadian River, it is more of a quality of life issue while in North Shawnee, it means hard jobs and more industrial development. There is a vast difference.
REALITY 6 – The City of Shawnee may think it's going broke (and it is having real problems) but it is nevertheless going to have to pick up more of the tab than its neighbors or the county. Shawnee has only 44 percent of the county's population but collected 91.81 percent of the municipal sales taxes in the most recent reporting period...and sales taxes are the No. 1 source of revenue for Oklahoma towns and cities. Every community needs to contribute something but you still can't get blood out of a turnip.
Those are just a few random thoughts. The question of what to do about economic development and how to do it is important to the county, to Shawnee and most of all, to the people who live here. It has been bubbling under the surface for about a year now. It is time to get it resolved. Let's get cracking.
|
